Category: Energy conservation (24)

Regulators are expected to approve Florida Power & Light's request to lower its fuel charge for customers next year because of lower projections for natural gas prices.

The fuel fee would be $4.53 less than FPL previously projected and it would help lower overall monthly bills for customers who use 1,000 kilowatt-hours by $1.92.

After its regular meeting today, the state Public Service Commission will also hear from environmentalists who are challenging regulators' decision in July to scrap a program that would have allowed FPL to save a lot more energy than it has before.

The program would have provided customers with free, energy-efficient light bulbs and water heater blankets and rebates for tune ups and replacements of inefficient appliances. But it would have cost customers $1.44 to $1.85 more a month for customers who use 1,200 kilowatt-hours of power during the next four years. Environmentalists say the higher goals would have allowed the utility to avoid building new power plants, which also cost customers money, and FPL could have implemented other rebates to achieve the higher goals at a lower cost.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said the PSC violated procedural and due process requirements and state law because it was supposed to hold a hearing about approving rebates to meet new goals that had already been set. Instead, the hearing became a “de-facto goal setting” session where regulators effectively repealed higher, energy-saving goals set in late 2009 by approving a program that doesn’t meet them, SACE wrote to the PSC.

How many new residents does Florida expect in the next ten years and how much more energy will they use?

These are some of the questions Florida Power & Light addressed in hundreds of pages of documents it sent to regulators last week to support its request to dismantle four power generators at its Port Everglades plant in Fort Lauderdale and build a new, more efficient plant.

The $1 billion project would produce 1,277 megawatts of power, or 7 percent more than it currently provides, and it is projected to save customers $425 million to $838 million over three alternate ways FPL explored to produce more energy, according to the utility.

FPL reported:

New population projections are showing a slower growth rate in Florida than previously forecasted. This summer, the state Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research decreased Florida's estimated population in 2021 10 percent from 2.7 million to 2.4 million, according to FPL documents to the state Public Service Commission. Still, the Office projects Florida's population from 2011 to 2021 will grow by about 13 percent instead of the 14 percent it previously projected.

Floridians will save a lot more energy in the coming years. A consultant for FPL projects a 148 percent increase in annual energy conservation from 2011 to 2021 to 3,365 megawatts by 2021. The projection doesn't include the impact of utility-sponsored programs to encourage lower energy use. In late 2009, regulators beefed up FPL's energy saving goal to 2,878 gigawatt-hours over nine years. This year, they backtracked, slashing the goal over that time to less than a third because of concerns about the cost of energy-saving programs.

FPL customers will collectively need 20 percent more power by 2021. That represents an increase of 21,900 gigawatt-hours. That's in part because FPL projects 14 percent more customers from 2011 to 2021, economic growth projections for the state, and other factors such as the increased use of electric cars that need to be powered up, according to documents FPL filed to the PSC.

Monthly bills for Florida Power & Light customers who use 1,000 kilowatt-hours will increase by at least $2.49 next year.

Regulators on Tuesday approved a $2.50 increase for charges FPL passes to customers for its environmental, energy conservation, fuel and other costs. The state Public Service Commission is also expected to approve a 1 cent decrease for a storm charge customers pay and it will consider a 23-cent base rate increase on Nov. 22.

If those changes are approved, customers who use 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would pay $99.26 in January, up $2.72 from the $96.54 they currently pay.

The increase approved Tuesday is largely due to a higher capacity charge, which pays for an increase in energy supply, including costs of proposed nuclear projects. There is also an increase allotted for programs that help customers lower their electricity use and environmental projects that allow FPL to comply with federal and state air and water standards.

"Our customers continue to save money on fuel costs due to the investments FPL has made in the efficiency of our power plant fleet," FPL Spokesman Mark Bubriski wrote in an email. For instance, he said a new power generator in western Palm Beach County will save $20 million in 2012: Customers will pay $166 million in 2012 for it but they will reap $186 million in fuel savings.

Florida Power & Light customers who want to install solar water heaters can apply for rebates of $1,000, but you’re out of luck – for now — if you want cash for solar panels.

FPL will dole out $15.5 million for solar rebates in 2012, and it started taking applications Thursday for half of that. Within hours, the utility hit its limit for solar panels. It will take applications again in the spring.

The utility is still taking applications for water heaters. The rebates are $1,000 for residential customers for each new water heater and up to $50,000 for business customers per property, or up to $150,000 for all properties.

As of Friday morning, FPL still had $420,000 available for rebates for residential solar water heaters and $220,224 for businesses.

Photo: Ted Verdone of Oakland Park installed a solar water heater and panels expecting rebates from the Florida Solar Rebate Program, but the state ran out of money and has only been providing half the rebates promised. (Joe Cavaretta, Sun Sentinel)

It looks like the “Occupy Wall Street” spirit is spreading to Florida energy issues.

A coalition of environmentalists and clean energy advocates opposed to, among other things, new nuclear reactors proposed for Florida, partnered with Occupy activists to hold a demonstration this weekend in Miami.

"That was sort of first date between the two groups," said Matt Schwartz, an organizer who is executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association.

Meanwhile, regulators who approved allowing Florida Power & Light to charge customers $196 million next year for proposed nuclear power plant expansions were slammed by some Sun Sentinel readers who called or wrote this week, several complaining of corporate influence and greed – a key theme of the Occupy movement.

FPL Spokesman Mark Bubriski said most of the $196 million is for FPL's plans to expand the four existing reactors and work on that is "well underway," saving customers about $1 million a month in energy costs. Federal regulators are expected to approve two of the expansions by the end of the year.

Anthony Morello, a retired business manager in Tamarac, noted a Sun Sentinel article Tuesday about the nuclear costs was above a story about how food stamps are on the rise due to unemployment.

"If they're a private company making profit, they have to decide whether to do this without saddling the people with costs, especially in these economic times. What are these people supposed to do to...who can't afford their mortgages or pay their rent?" he said. "These big companies...must have friends in the state government."

The state has confirmed there is $25 million left for state solar rebates – enough to give homes and businesses about 55 percent of the rebates they were expecting before the Florida Solar Rebate Program ran out of money in 2009.

Patrick Sheehan, the new director of the state's Office of Energy, told Senators on an energy panel Tuesday that more than $6 million in rebates have been doled out for energy efficient air-conditioning systems, leaving $25 million for solar rebates.

On the other side of the Capitol Tuesday, Public Service Commission Chairman Art Graham backed measures to save energy, according to the News Service of Florida, but discouraged policies to grow the state's renewable energy supply on the backs of consumers.

State lawmakers in November accepted more than $31 million in federal stimulus money for energy efficiency rebates but they required air conditioning system rebates be funded first, then solar.

Thousands of Floridians who installed solar water heaters, panels or pool heaters in 2009 expecting to be reimbursed for part of the costs were left hanging when the solar rebate program expired last year.

"Some of them have been waiting way too long," Sheehan said. The state is not taking new applications for rebates but sending out checks to home and businesses this month that have already been approved for rebates.

Florida Power & Light also launched a solar rebate pilot program this year offering $15.5 million for solar systems installed at homes and business owners. The demand was so much greater for solar panel rebates, that it shifted $5 million that had been reserved for solar water heater rebates to solar panels in late August.

Installing a rooftop solar panel array is typically far more expensive than installing a solar water heater so it's unclear why the demand was so much greater for the panels.

Funds for all rebates this year have been reserved, except rebates for solar water heaters installed at businesses.

Typical Florida Power & Light customers can expect to see their monthly bills rise by $2.49 next year, according to early estimates FPL provided to regulators this month.

The bill for a customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours – slightly less than what an average customer uses – would increase to $99.10 in January 2012, up from $96.61 currently and $95.01 in January 2011.

The increase is mostly due to a higher capacity charge, which pays for an increase energy supply, including planning proposed nuclear projects.

FPL said some of the projections could change before the Public Service Commission weighs them during hearings in November.

The state Public Service Commission will vote Tuesday on whether Florida Power & Light should be allowed to bypass a competitive bidding rule for a $1 billion project to rebuild a power plant in Fort Lauderdale in 2016.

The agency will evaluate whether to continue allowing FPL to transfer customers' calls to its affiliate, FPL Energy Services, which sells, among other things, heavy duty surge protectors and insurance-like services for damage from power surges.

The PSC will also consider approving a review done every five years of an FPL fund that pays for the costs of someday decommissioning nuclear plants and dealing with used nuclear waste storage equipment.

Power plant upgrade

FPL officials wrote to the PSC that bypassing a rule requiring competitive bidding for its Port Everglades project would speed the process up and save customers money. The utility said it would still bid out the construction and the purchase of any major equipment required so "FPL' s customers are ultimately ensured of lowest cost construction."

The PSC approved a similar request when FPL proposed conversions for its Cape Canaveral plant in Brevard County and another plant in Riviera Beach. Former commissioner Nathan Skop dissented, noting that the bid rule wasn't waived for a generator FPL proposed for western Palm Beach County: "From my perspective, it makes no sense to waive the requirement of a Commission rule that..was clearly intended to protect consumers from cost overruns."

But some say the competitive bidding rule is not effective: It allows utilities to evaluate the bids, including their own proposals, instead of having the review done independently.

The rebuilt plant would produce 1,280 megawatts of power, or 7 percent more than it currently provides and it is projected to save customers more than $400 million – after accounting for construction costs, said FPL Spokesman Mark Bubriski. That's because savings from lower fuel costs, reduced operating and maintenance costs and lower greenhouse gas emissions are expected to exceed construction costs.

FPL affiliate

The PSC staff have recommended requiring FPL to make it clear to new utility customers that they will be transferred to an affiliate that wants to sell products.

Some Floridians who applied for cash from the Florida Solar Rebate Program nearly two years ago are facing an eleventh-hour hurdle.

Paul DeCarolis, a retiree in Lake Worth who paid about $42,000 for solar panels and a solar water heater installed in late 2009, said he received a phone call a few weeks ago from the state saying his solar rebate has been approved and he should receive a check for about $10,000. But on Friday, he said he received a "final notice" mailed on Aug. 3 indicating his application is not complete because it's missing an interconnection agreement, or a document proving the solar system is connected to the grid. And that's due by Monday.

"I said, ‘What the heck. Here [the state] calls me telling me everything is done’” and now this, said DeCarolis, who works part-time as a school police monitor.

Justin Hoysradt, Abundant Energy's vice president of sales, said he's heard from several customers with the same problem and hopes the requirement isn't the state "pulling a fast one at the end." He said many of his customers had to resubmit their applications because of technical problems with the state's online system that made some documents, such as photos and invoices of the solar systems, either too small or blurry. He said his company had copies of its customers' documents but he's concerned other home and business owners may lose out on a rebate if they didn't.

DeCarolis said the state has confirmed it received the agreement, which was resent by the solar installer and Florida Power & Light, and that he should expect a rebate in September.

He said he'll believe it when he sees it: “They’ve been saying that for I don’t know how long. Thank God I was able to pay off the loan by borrowing money from friends and relatives.” A $13,000 federal tax credit also helped.

The state has always asked utilities directly for rebate applicants' interconnection agreements but recently started notifying the customer as well because of the approaching deadline, said Sterling Ivey, press secretary for Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. The state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services took the program over this year from the governor’s office.

State regulators on Tuesday scrapped Florida Power & Light's proposed consumer rebates to meet higher energy conservation goals – reversing course on a decision earlier this year in which they affirmed the new goals.

The proposed program would have provided customers with free energy-efficient light bulbs and water heater blankets and rebates for tune ups and replacements of appliances that use a lot of energy. But paying for the program would have cost $1.44 to $1.85 more a month for a customer that uses 1,200-kilowatts of energy during the next four years, according to the state’s Public Service Commission.

While discussing Progress Energy's proposed energy saving program at length, commissioners echoed concerns expressed by major utilities – and more recently, Gov. Rick Scott – about the cost of beefed-up energy saving programs, especially to customers who won’t use them.

Critics noted that hours before the PSC decision, the agency approved an FPL proposal to give discounts to businesses that use more power and create jobs, which could ultimately impact rates for residential customers who don’t qualify for the discounts. They added that saving energy can reduce electric bills and long-term costs for all customers by avoiding the need for new power plants.

But business groups indicated it’s the wrong time for spending more on saving energy. Their monthly electric bills could increase by thousands of dollars – inhibiting economic recovery and job growth. Commissioner Eduardo Balbis said utilities' existing programs to save energy are working well without creating an “undue rate impact” for customers. Those programs will continue as will newer solar pilot programs the utilities already started implementing.

The state's Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved Florida Power & Light's proposal to discount electric rates for businesses that create jobs.

The plan, approved unanimously, will grant discounts of up to 25 percent off businesses' electricity bills if they expand their energy use by 350 kilowatts and create 10 new jobs before June 1, 2013 or 25 new jobs after that.

There's debate about the long-term impact on residential customers' rates.

FPL, the state's largest utility, has a similar program in place that has been offered since 1998 for businesses that expand their energy use by at least 5,000-kilowatts. To qualify, businesses must effectively create at least 375 new jobs.

But no businesses are enrolled in the program. FPL said that's because the thresholds are too high and it proposed reducing that to 500 kilowatts. On Tuesday, the commission accepted a recommendation from Wal-Mart Stores to reduce the goal even more to 350 kilowatts.

"This modification would make these [discounts] a significant factor in Wal-Mart's decisions to locate new stores in FPL's service area in Florida," Schef Wright, an attorney for the company, wrote in a letter to the commission.

Scott praised FPL in a statement late Tuesday for the program and for creating an Office of Economic Development within the company: "It is initiatives like this that help stimulate our economy and get Floridians back to work. By providing these essential services to businesses, the company is adding to the reasons why Florida is the number one place to start, grow or move a business.”

Sun Sentinel Reporter Silvana Ordoñez looked into how FPL's energy saving programs compare to those of other utilities. This is what she found:

FPL customers could be getting free energy-efficient light bulbs and water heater blankets and rebates for other energy saving products that save customers money and energy.

But the state Public Service Commission has not approved the proposed programs, which would cost FPL customers $1.44 to $1.85 more a month based on a 1,200-kilowatts energy use. The agency plans to discuss the programs on Tuesday.

The cost is what seems to be delaying approval for these programs.

Duke Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Carolinas launched programs that have achieved more energy efficiency than anticipated for less than the projected cost, according to a report by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Both companies increased their average customers’ monthly bills by a few dollars to pay for the programs.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has declared Florida the third most toxic state for air pollution from electric power plants.

The environmental group on Wednesday released rankings of the 20 "most toxic" states and an analysis of 2009 Toxics Release Inventory Program data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Florida released 49,039,948 pounds of toxins in 2009, including 33,442,431 from the electric sector.

Gulf Power's Crist plant near Pensacola and Progress Energy's plant near Crystal River are among the top ten worst polluting plants in the country, according to the NRDC report. They released 9,804,196 and 9,449,158 pounds of toxins, respectively.

The NRDC report notes improvements made at the plants should reduce emissions. The utilities' customers pay for the upgrades, but they should help avoid major rate hikes due to new federal clean air rules adopted this month.

Florida Power & Light, the largest utility in the state, had no plants on the national list and only one, which it jointly operates with another utility, on the NRDC's list of Florida's top polluting plants.

Florida Power & Light asked regulators this week to allow it to bypass competitive bidding rules for a $1 billion project to rebuild a power plant in Fort Lauderdale in 2016.

"Any other proposed alternative site and associated power plant facility proposed by a third party through an RFP process would incur significant costs in each of these areas, making any alternative site a more costly alternative," the utility wrote to the PSC Monday.

But the utility said it would still bid out the construction and the purchase of any major equipment required so "FPL' s customers are ultimately ensured of lowest cost construction."

The PSC approved a similar request when FPL proposed similar conversions for its Cape Canaveral plant in Brevard County and another plant in Riviera Beach. Former commissioner Nathan Skop dissented, noting that the bid rule wasn't waived for a generator FPL proposed for western Palm Beach County. "From my perspective, it makes no sense to waive the requirement of a Commission rule that is directly on point, and which was clearly intended to protect consumers from cost overruns," he wrote in his dissent.

FPL plans to submit an application to the PSC to build the project in December or 2012, according to FPL Spokesman Neil Nissan. FPL plans to propose demolishing four 1960s-era 350-foot smokestacks and their associated oil and natural has-powered steam electric generators at the utility's Port Everglades plant and replacing them with a combined-cycle plant. That technology uses heat produced while making energy to produce more energy, effectively allowing the plant to use the same fuel twice.

The rebuilt plant would produce 1,280 megawatts of power, or 7 percent more than it currently provides.

State regulators ordered Florida Power & Light to beef up its energy conservation goals in 2009.

But most proposed programs to meet those goals – including free energy-efficient light bulbs and water heater blankets for customers and rebates for tune ups and replacements of energy-sucking appliances – have not been implemented yet.

The state Public Service Commission has postponed approval of the programs four times this year. The agency was set to consider the item next week but just canceled that meeting.

Some say it’s because there’s a concern among some at the agency that the programs will cost consumers too much, echoing a sentiment FPL and other utilities have expressed for years. More recently, advisers of Gov. Rick Scott said he thinks the programs are too costly.

Energy conservation advocates say programs to lower energy use are a better deal for consumers than building new power plants.

The beefed up energy efficiency programs would cost $1.44 to $1.85 more a month for an FPL customer that uses 1,200-kilowatts of energy during the next four years, according to the PSC. Agency staffers recommended approving the programs in May, saying they are cost-effective and don't have an undue impact on rates.

For years, Florida utilities resisted giving rebates that are offered in states like Ohio and Kentucky for devices that save consumers energy and money, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs, water-heater blankets, low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators.

They may get their way once again.

At a meeting with utility and renewable energy industry officials on Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott's policy advisers told attendees that he wants the state's Public Service Commission to lower energy conservation goals it set for major utilities.

That's according to Mike Antheil, executive director of the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy, who attended the meeting. The group represents about 100 renewable energy companies.

In 2009, the PSC ordered aggressive new energy conservation goals that required beefed-up rebates for energy-saving home upgrades. Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, hasn't implemented most of the rebates and programs to meet the new goals because the agency has mysteriously postponed weighing the issue three times this year.

The agency did not give much of a reason for the delays, except to say all issues scheduled for its most recent meeting were canceled, not just the energy efficiency item. Although the PSC typically makes decisions independent of the influence of elected officials, it's possible Scott's emerging views on the issue may affect what it ultimately decides.

FPL was opposed to the higher new energy saving goals because it said they would require its general body of customers to pay more to support energy conservation programs and rebates.

Scott's advisers apparently echoed that point. They said "the cost of [energy efficiency] programs are under consideration, with the cost appearing too high for many systems," Antheil summarized in a press release Thursday.

He said the advisers also said Scott opposes providing perks or discounts for energy-saving devices that pay themselves off for consumers within two years – similar to a guideline utilities pushed for before the 2009 PSC decision.

Federal lawmakers have proposed blocking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases in part because of concerns about the Clean Air Act from utilities that rely heavily on coal.

Opponents are concerned about costs to customers, especially since coal is one of the cheapest power sources. But the EPA released a report this month that estimates the Act has saved roughly 160,000 lives by reducing harmful pollution and will save $2 trillion by 2020, more than 30 times the $65 billion cost of implementing it.

Progress Energy Florida, which serves central and northwestern Florida, projects its coal-fueled power makes up about a third of its energy. It's less than 9 percent for Florida Power & Light, when including coal and oil. So it's no surprise Lew Hay, chairman of FPL's parent company, NextEra Energy, told Politico recently that he does not support the House legislation.

Federal lawmakers are also unlikely to create a cap-and-trade system to reduce air pollution. That's why the state Senate's utilities committee on Monday approved killing state legislation to implement any cap-and-trade system that is created.

The committee also approved a bill that would upgrade assaults on utility workers from misdemeanors to felonies, similar to attacks on police officers.

Florida Power & Light plans to launch a two-year pilot program this Spring to have 500 customers in Broward County test smart grid technology, including some who will pay more for power when energy use in the state is highest and pay less when its lowest.

The technology is aimed to encourage customers to conserve when the demand for energy is highest. That lessens the strain on the electric grid and can improve its reliability.

The state's Public Service Commission must approve the part of the program that calls for variable pricing. The PSC will weigh the issue next week. Its employees have recommended holding off on a decision until they've had more time to review it.

About $200 million of the $800 million cost of the new meters will be covered by a federal grant, and the rest will come from customers' base rates. FPL expects to spend about $2.6 million of the grant to pay to administer, market, research and operate the pilot smart grid program.

According to an FPL proposal to the PSC on Jan. 14, the pilot program would include:

120 customers with smart phone-like devices called Home Energy Controllers. TThe devices will allow them to monitor usage and cost of electricity for their homes and select appliances to help them plan their monthly electricity budgets. They also will be able to schedule the appliances to turn on or off at specified times of the day.

130 customers who pay about 3.5 times more than other customers for each kilowatt-hour of electricity they use when energy demand is highest. They will receive a 5 percent discount for each kilowatt-hour on the base rate portion of their bill at all other times – 99 percent of the time, said FPL Spokeswoman Jackie Anderson. Base rates make up about half of a typical customer’s monthly bill.

These customers will also receive the smart phone-like devices to program key appliances to turn off when the prices are highest.

Ten customers in the variable pricing group who have “smart” appliances. For instance, they may have a clothes dryer that automatically adjusts its temperature and electric settings based on the size and type of laundry loaded.

250 customers that have in-home displays, or thermostat-like devices that show real-time information on energy use. Like the first group, these customers' rates won't vary based on when demand is highest or lowest.

Anderson said customers who meet the company's qualifications for the pilot program will be selected and recruited randomly, and the customers will have the choice to participate.

As legislation was proposed this week to allow utilities to charge customers for new renewable energy plants, a debate rages on about whether ratepayer money should be used at all or whether it should instead go to help customers install renewable energy systems at their homes and businesses.

Renewable energy advocates pushed their ideas at House and Senate utilities committee meetings this week. Meanwhile, representatives from state energy offices described and defended the work they do in light of proposed budget cuts.

Gov. Rick Scott's budget proposes moving the Governor's Energy Office, which administers state and federal energy grants including $176 million from the federal stimulus package, to the Department of Environmental Protection, and scrapping the Florida Energy & Climate Commission, unpaid board members that research and makes recommendations on the state's climate change efforts.

Jim Murley, an assistant dean of Florida Atlantic University and chairman of the commission, told the Senate's utilities committee that it's valuable having private citizens weigh in on the state's energy policies.

Both the Senate and House utilities committees also heard from renewable energy advocates and critics. Critics say the state shouldn't spend any more money on building new plants because Florida utilities say they're not needed for at least ten years. Proponents are divided: Some want more rebates for homeowners and businesses to save energy and install solar systems.

Others, like Florida Power & Light want a repeat of a 2008 law that allowed the company to charge customers for three new solar plants. They say large utility projects benefit all ratepayers, not just those who can afford solar panels and energy efficient appliances. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, filed a bill Wednesday to allow utilities to charge customers for new renewable energy plants.

But SunEdison, a solar power company in Maryland, suggested another approach altogether. The company builds solar plants for utilities and installs solar panels on the roofs of businesses such as Kohls and Whole Foods in other states, and wants to do the same in Florida. The companies don't pay for the installations: just the electricity produced.

The Public Service Commission also unanimously ordered FPL to redo its plan to provide energy saving rebates and rejected the utility's request to pass up to $7 million in costs to upgrade a coal gasification power plant in Georgia through environmental or fuel fees that customers pay on their monthly electric bills.

PSC employees had said customers should not be charged through those fees and representatives of consumer groups noted that FPL can use the money it collects for base rates to pay for the power plant and if that's not enough, it can ask regulators to charge customers later.

Critics say the decision to deny the PSC staff's recommendation to have the agency review FPL's profits on shareholders' investment from April 2010 to March 2011 signals a shift in Florida's regulatory environment to one that is more constructive, or friendly, to the companies and their investors instead of to consumers.

Representatives of FPL and the Office of Public Counsel, the state's advocate for utility customers, opposed the review, saying it could send the wrong message to utilities and their investors about an agreement the company, consumer advocates and others struck to freeze customers' base rates until 2013. "The company expects to have some certainty from it," Beck said. "They need to know that they have that agreement."

But PSC employees said if the commission doesn't start monitoring the profits now, consumers could lose out on possible refunds because FPL will close its financial books for 2010 soon. "If you don't deal with this today, the time period we're talking about, it's gone," said Marshall Willis, the PSC's director of economic regulation. He said FPL's actual profit for all but one month from March to October exceeded 11 percent.

FPL Attorney John Butler said since the figures are for the twelve month period ending in each of the months, they include unusual weather in 2009, which won't ultimately affect the final reported profit FPL earned for the year. Butler said he can assure the commission that the profit won't exceed 11 percent and if it does, provisions of the rate freeze allow the utility to address that. For instance, the utility can spend more money on trimming trees or strengthening more power lines.

Former commissioners Nathan Skop and Nancy Argenziano slammed the PSC decision. Argenziano said the state's consumer advocate has been "neutered" because of legislators' threat to rethink his appointment last year and Skop said the decision is "unbelievable."

As for FPL's energy saving program, including rebates for energy-efficient air conditioners and a pilot program encouraging solar hot water heaters, the commission ruled to have FPL redo them in the next 30 days so they meet aggressive new goals set by the PSC in late 2009.

An attorney for the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, which represents many larger customers, said the group is concerned that new energy saving goals are projected to increase customers' energy conservation fees by up to 87 percent by the third year.

But Susanne Brownless, an attorney for solar installers and manufacturers with the Solar Energy Industry Association, said FPL could reduce some of what it plans to spend for administrative and marketing costs. She said FPL projected spending 19 percent of the $14 million it planned for a solar pilot program on administrative and marketing costs and could bring that closer to 10 percent, similar to Progress Energy Florida and Tampa Electric. Brownless said solar panel installers will do plenty of marketing so the utility does not have to do that.

FPL Spokesman Mark Bubriski said the 19 percent for administrative costs only includes 5 percent for education and marketing and it includes costs for research and development and measuring the program's savings, as required by regulators.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law a measure to provide rebates for consumers with energy-efficient air conditioning and solar systems.

When legislators met Tuesday in Tallahassee, they passed bills, including one accepting $31 million in federal funding for the rebates. Crist signed the bill the day after, when he received it.

“I am pleased that the Floridians who have been anxiously awaiting the Legislature’s action on this bill will finally be able to take advantage of the energy efficient rebates provided by the federal government," Crist wrote in a statement. "Environmentally conscious Floridians are helping secure the beauty of our state for future generations, and they deserve to be rewarded for taking the recommended steps to upgrade their homes to environmentally friendly levels."

Thousands of Floridians were left hanging when money ran out for the Florida Solar Rebate Program and the "cash for clunkers" AC program.

But they're now scrambling to check the status of their applications and in some cases, they can still apply: They have until Nov 30 to apply for the air conditioning rebates if they purchased or entered into a contract for the systems between Aug. 30 and Sept. 14 and they meet other requirements.

Florida Power & Light President Armando Olivera told the Sun Sentinel editorial board today that renewable energy projects don't pay off for investors in Florida because the state does not provide incentives that exist elsewhere. But he said the state should allow utilities to charge customers for the projects because they're good for the environment and they can create an industry that will produce jobs for years to come.

"Nobody is going to want to put money in a project where there's no path to cost recovery," Olivera said. "It does not pay today but I believe over time if we don't address [lowering greenhouse gas emissions], you're going to end up paying a higher cost" due to carbon caps and other proposed laws to limit pollution.

State lawmakers are expected to consider bills to increase Florida's renewable energy production during the regular session in March. Groups like Citizens for Clean Energy have urged lawmakers to also take action sooner, at a special session planned for next week or next month when they meet. That would allow FPL and others to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to qualify for federal renewable energy grants. The grants helped reduce the $650 million cost of three FPL solar power plants to just under $500 million, or about a quarter on monthly electric bills over the life of the projects.

Olivera said he met with gubernatorial candidates before the election to express his support for renewable energy and said Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos seems to support the idea of expanding the state's renewable energy. "There were a number of politicians that used our solar projects as backdrop" for photos while campaigning, Olivera said. "But so far we haven't seen it translate into policy."

Lawmakers haven't passed legislation because of the cost to customers but that concern may be starting to die down: He referenced a Florida TaxWatch survey released this week that found most utility customers are willing to pay, on average, $2 more on their monthly electric bills for renewable energy.

Olivera said FPL is positioned to build solar plants that produce 500 megawatts of energy. It has identified five possible projects: It could expand its solar plant at the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County by 10 megawatts and expand its solar plant in DeSoto County by 275 megawatts. It could also build a 75-megawatt plant in Manatee County, a 75-megawatt plant at Babcock Ranch in Charlotte County and a 130-megawatt plant in central Florida.

Each 100 megawatts of new renewable energy would cost typical FPL customers roughly 55 cents a month for the first year and the charge would decrease over time, according to the company.

Competing with emerging renewable energy producers

Olivera said FPL, like other utilities, is aware of the threat to its electricity sales posed by independent renewable energy producers, homeowners and businesses that install their own solar systems and programs that reduce energy use.

"The landscape is full of companies that didn't face the reality and they go under because they refuse to change or refuse to embrace the change. We're in period where energy efficiency can make huge impacts, societal impacts...There may be a day where you can put a photovoltaic panel in your home and have it be cost-effective. You know, we'll just have to adapt and figure out how we can make money in that space. In the short term, you're absolutely right: It has the potential to cannibalize sales," he said.

He said FPL has top-notch engineers and renewable energy experts that are helping it stay ahead of the curve and the utility's parent company, NextEra Energy, is one of the country's largest suppliers of renewable energy.

Most electric utility customers in Florida are willing to pay more to boost the state's renewable energy production.

That was a key result of a non-partisan Florida TaxWatch survey conducted last week by phone of 800 likely voters, including 49 percent who are Florida Power & Light customers.

"We wanted to test taxpayers' understanding and their willingness [to support] a pragmatic renewable energy" policy, said TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro. He said that his group wants to help new elected officials "transition into leading the people of Florida in a cost-effective way."

The TaxWatch group's mission is to be a "watchdog of citizens′ hard-earned tax dollars" and its members include homeowners, businesses, retirees, non-profits, labor groups and others. Calabro said if renewable energy and utility industry representatives are members, "they are of diminutive nature."

Results of the survey include:

More than 80 percent said they want elected officials to take action to require more renewable energy production. The Legislature plans to consider partly funding the Florida Solar Energy Program and rebates for energy-efficient air conditioning at a special session planned next week but it's unclear if they'd take up other proposals.

Poll-takers gave almost equal weight to different reasons for supporting renewable energy: They said it could create jobs, build a high-tech industry, reduce dependence on fuel from other countries, protect against price spikes for fuel and improve the environment.

About 70 percent said they're willing to pay more on their monthly electric bills for new renewable energy. A fifth of those surveyed said they'd pay a $1 more a month. Calabro said the survey implied support for utility-scale projects because the question mentioned electric bills as opposed to renewable energy projects at individual homes or businesses.

A majority, 64 percent, are also willing to pay more on programs that save energy. About 30 percent of those polled would pay $1 more a month.

"In the past the big concern was, 'Yeah they may like renewable energy but are they willing to pay more especially in a tough economy?" said Stuart Polk, of McLaughlin & Associates, which worked with Anzalone-Liszt to conduct the poll.

About 70 percent report they've taken action to reduce their energy use at home and 13 percent say they plan to. More than a fourth say they're considering investing in renewable energy systems for their homes and another 8 percent said they already have.

PAUL OWERS is a West Palm Beach native who graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1989. He covers the housing market for the Sun Sentinel after spending seven years on the real estate beat for that daily paper just up the road. He has impeccable timing, arriving at the Sun Sentinel on the very day that Hurricane Wilma pummeled South Florida. The real wrath came in early 2006, from readers, when he wrote that the five-year housing boom was over. They argued, cursed and complained before grudgingly admitting he was right.Follow @paulowers

JULIE PATEL covers property insurance and Florida Power & Light Co. for the Sun Sentinel. Julie previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News where she covered race and demographics issues, education, city government and the San Francisco 49ers' potential move to the San Jose area. Julie earned a master's degree in communications at Stanford University and a bachelor's degree at the University of Chicago. Julie was born in India and raised in Chicago. She enjoys dancing, painting, cooking and roller skating.Follow @juliepatel